I found this book very entertaining, and does not really delve into genetics too often, but instead the xenophobia, animosity, and distrust of nations, once the whole world is put into peril, and must find a way to resolve a worldwide crisis. It is very dark but at the same time oddly humorous, and there are not many gory depictions of anything in the destroyed parts of the world.The contagious nature of the plague also seems to be a precursor to the idea of a plague in the next Dune books, and there are characters with locked up memories as well.

There is more action than in some other books such as GEoD or Chapterhouse, but a lot of references to Irish folklore that dispel any quaint notion of Ireland, though they will probably not be recognizable in a meaningful form to anyone at first, and in many cases would require looking them up if you wanted to know just what they were (which I haven't stopped to do).

Also, FH uses an Irish grammar often here, and I got a vague feeling that this grammar style sort of sneaked into or influenced his next Dune books.

The novel presents a message of free inquiry and communication through an odd morality.